Everybody is a winner: On the morning after the municipal elections,
almost all the political parties issued statements in which they claim to have emerged victorious from the match.
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Minister Haim Ramon (Kadima) said that almost 50 of the council heads elected are members of his party, "not a bad accomplishment considering these were our first municipal elections," he stated. "We started from scratch… all in all we have close to 50 council heads in medium-size and small localities. This creates meaningful infrastructure for the future," he added.
According to Yoel Hasson, head of Kadima's municipal campaign bureau, "the Kadima movement has today become the largest party in municipal councils in Israel. We have dozens of council heads and hundreds of council members, while the Likud and Labor have nearly been erased."
Despite Hasson's declaration, Labor's Secretary-General Eitan Cabel announced that he was pleased with the elections' results. "With a small budget we managed to strengthen our party and bring about a change in leadership in many cities," he stated.
Elections in Jerusalem (Photo: Dudi Vaknin)
Not surprisingly, Shas Chairman Eli Yishai claimed that his party was in fact the big winner of the elections: "Shas is continuing the revolution it started with the local authorities, and will end in elections to Knesset.
"Shas has taken over four municipalities and has increased its power by a fourfold. Shas has kept the leadership of Elad and has conquered Beit Shemesh Rechasim and Emanuel. The results show complete faith in Shas' path in local leadership and ahead of the elections to Knesset," he added.
However, Yishai also admitted that Shas suffered a "stinging loss" in the Jerusalem elections, and attributed it to an internal conflict within the haredi public.
Yisrael Beiteinu also issued a victory statement. "The Yisrael Beiteinu party competed in 47 local authorities in the municipal election. The party managed to double its power and status in the local authorities across the country," the statement read.
Party chairman, Knesset Member Avigdor Lieberman, said after receiving the results, "The clear way set by Yisrael Beiteinu in the municipal elections and the fact that it doubled its power will lead to the party doubling its power in the general elections."
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